Dan and the Judgment Dragon
by ArgonianCallum33
Summary: Dan and his new friend Callum want to become the best duelists of all time. To do this they have to duel in tournaments all around the world. Dan, with his favorite card, 'Judgment Dragon' will be tested to the brim, but there is also Callum, the Noble Knight player who's the younger of the two but just as ambitious! But only one of them can be number 1...
1. The Hell House

**_Dan and the Judgment Dragon_**

**_Chapter 1 – 'The Hell House'_**

"Callum, hurry up!"

One boy stood outside a house at the dead of the night, he was swallowed in the darkness that was cast by a oak tree. He had his hands buried deep in his thick, black coat that hung down to his ankles and a black cap covered his eyes. The house seemed very well-kept; it had a big garden with lots of exotic and colourful plants growing along the fence that surrounded it. It had pillars either side of the front door to hold a balcony that seemed to lead to a bedroom. The lights were off and there was no sign of the residents. The door was wide open and there were sounds of frantic rummaging.

It was starting to rain. The boy strolled down the path and looked down the road to his left, then his right, his breathing steadied.

"No one seems to be in sight." He said in his usual deep voice.

"Well then," a voice came from inside the house, slightly higher than the first boy. Callum poked his head out to look at the boy. He wore a plain, blue jacket and a white t-shirt underneath and black jeans. His light brown hair was stuck up but was a little wavy at the front. "come and help me if no one's coming."

The boy walked up the path and stood in front of Callum. He was much taller than Callum and was about the height of the boy's shoulders.

"You been growing while you've been out there mate?" Callum smiled as he turned around and walked back into the house. The boy followed and hit his head painfully in the doorway with a thump. The boy groaned whilst Callum laughed loudly.

"Calm down Callum. It _is_ pitch black in here." And it was. "How can you even see in this?"

"I dunno." Callum mumbled as he searched through some drawers next to the door.

The boy turned the lights on to see a living room, furnished with a big, brown, leather couch in the middle and there were multiple bookshelves leaning on the white walls, filled with a copious amount of books filling them on each shelf. A flat-screen TV was perched upon a table near the window.

The lights were then turned back off.

"I'd prefer if we weren't seen by the house across the street." Callum pointed out. He then started to walk upstairs.

"What are we looking for?"

"I'm looking for a deck which was stolen from me. It's a Gravekeeper deck." Callum walked into the first bedroom and started delve into a few drawers. "Remember, don't steal anything. We're not thieves. We're only trying to get my cards back."

The boy headed to the next room. He searched inside one of the end tables next to the double bed. They weren't there.

"How do you know it's here and how did it get here?" he asked whilst looking through the items on one of the shelves.

"You know the local tournaments we have in the Card shop that's down the road from your house? Well I was talking to some contestants until the final duel got under way. I foolishly left my deck on the table." Callum walked into the room shaking his head sadly. "The duel was great and then I turned around to collect my deck and head out but it wasn't there. So I asked a few people who were watching the duel if they had seen anything, but most people had no idea. Until I approached one nice girl who told me that she had seen Jacob steal my deck. I thanked her and left. I ran out onto the road and saw a car pull away with Jacob holding a 'Gravekeeper's Spy' up against the window and he smiled when he saw me then they were gone." Callum looked around angrily. "I stumbled across this house a few days ago whilst I was taking a stroll and spotted the same car that Jacob had been in."

"How do you know that Jacob hasn't sold them?" The boy turned around and walked past Callum and entered another bedroom.

"I know Jacob quite well. He used to go to our school." Callum followed and started to look into a few boxes on top of a cabinet. The moon was now providing just enough light to navigate around the house. "He'd never let me forget it and would use it to patronize me. So why would you sell it, when you could enrage a person who beat you during a tournament and frankly, it's a much better deck than what he originally had."

The boy started to look through a desk which was under the window. A book, a notepad, a few playing cards and then, at the back of the top drawer, was a deck. He scooped all the cards out and flipped them over so they were face-up, allowing him to examine them. It was obviously a Gravekeepers deck.

"I've found your deck."

The boy looked up. He could hear a car in the distance. It was coming closer.

"Ah! Good, good. Let's get out of here."

The boy stood like a statue. The car appeared, it turned into the driveway. The headlights flashed over his face. It had seemed to have paralyzed him. He stood like a statue. He was wasting valuable seconds.

The engine stopped running.

The door opened to two people and obviously a teenager due to the spiky hair mixed with his height and baggy trousers. The moon outlined the figures which had made their way up the driveway.

He turned and ran into the room Callum was in. "There are people coming!" The boy croaked. Callum turned quickly and dropped a small box onto the floor revealing its meaningless contents, it was the loudest thing for a couple of seconds until the boy turned and scanned desperately for a place to hide a or a way to get out of the house... A window! It was the only thing that would let them escape. The Boy advanced and examined how to open it. There were two latches connecting the bottom and top of the window to the frame. With trembling fingers, the boy flipped the latches away. "All this for a stupid deck!" he thought as he slid the window upwards, revealing a head-spinning drop. The cold air rushed through onto the boy's face and made him tremble more. He took his hat off and stuffed it into his coat pocket. The boy's hair was flicked to the right and nearly went over his eye and was a little scruffy, the back of his brown hair went just about down to his shoulders. He turned his head and looked at Callum who had followed. The boy's blue eyes were prominent in the moonlight. Callum had a quick look out of the window, his head turning from left to right as he tried to observe his options. But then came a distinct noise of the front door opening and mumblings crept into earshot.

"The drain pipe is the only way to get down unless you want to break your legs." the boy said. Callum agreed with a nod and indicated the boy to try to get out first.

"They have no need to know who you are so I'm letting you go first." The boy frowned at Callum's conclusion. "Jacob knows who I am, at least he won't think of me as a random burglar. He'll know I'm looking for my deck. But if he sees you then you have no excuse being in here. Now go!"

The boy nodded and jumped out of the window, holding on to the cold, wet ledge. Callum had turned his back from the window to greet Jacob if he were to come upstairs.

The boy shimmied across the ledge, getting closer and closer to the drain pipe.

Just a little more... The boy reached out...

With a triumphant smile he had managed to grab hold of the pipe and wrap his feet around it. He made his way down and Callum clambered out of the window. He tried his best to close the window as he hung there but there was no way of putting the latches back on. Unfortunately, Jacob and his family would know that someone had been in their house due to things being clumsily put back, things that were not where they were originally and the lock on the door was unlocked also the window not having its latches on!

Callum had considerably shorter arms than the boy. He found it difficult to reach the pipe. After a couple of agonising, inactive seconds waiting for Callum, they managed to flee into the woods next to the house.

"Thanks Dan." Callum whispered as the boys ran further into the woods.

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**A:N/ Hello everyone! I'm ArgonianCallum33! I hope you liked the first chapter of my story, and be sure to comment afterwards! Also, sorry for this chapter being quite long!  
**


	2. Tournament Play

**A/N: Hello everyone! Firstly, I'd like to thank 'iloveyugiohGX93' for being the first to review on the previous chapter! Now I've written another chapter, yay! This one is quite a long chapter for my standards (usually 1,000 words per chapter) and this one clocks at around 1,900! Enough of my rambling, I present to you 'Tournament Play'!**

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**_Chapter 2 – 'Tournament Play'_**

**6 Months Later**

"Are you ready for the tournament then?" Callum asked while he stood on the front step of Dan's house.

"I'm ready." Dan turned and revealed a wide, confident smile. "Let's go." He slung his rucksack on his shoulders.

Dan thought about what surprises the tournament would bring this year. Truth be told, some of his fondest memories were at the local tournaments he had been to. One memory particularly was thrust into view. A couple of years ago a duelist who had competed in the Regionals, came to join in as he had happened to be in the neighbourhood at the time, his name was Toru. He apparently had made it into the top 18 but got knocked out there. Dan managed to duel this man, he played a 'Scrap' deck which relied on summoning 'Atomic Scrap Dragon'. He had managed to summon this giant monster and managed to put nearly every one of Dan's monster cards back to the deck, which eventually allowed Toru to win. None of that this year though!

Nothing that exciting had happened in the last tournaments but it might just be Dan's year. He had made crucial adjustments to his deck but nothing could compensate for him only having one Judgment Dragon, which was given to him by his Brother. It was immaculate; it was in a sleeve at all times and only took it off for duels. He had tried to look for one but they all were too expensive and not to mention, very hard to come by. Whenever you compete a tournament, you get a complimentary booster pack of six cards, these boosters, over the years, had provided him with some crucial cards which he added into his deck like 'Eclipse Wyvern' and 'Foolish Burial'.

The boys made their way down to the local card shop named 'Leland's Yu-Gi-Oh Club'. It only took a minute or two until they arrived.

It was a familiar sight. The big banner above the store window displaying the name of the store in big, bold writing with various Yu-Gi-Oh cards in the background. A quick glance into the window revealed various shelves which held many tins, packs, decks and a variety of figures in all shapes and colours. One that particularly stood out was a figure of Jack Atlas, who was one of the quarterfinalists in the world championships.

The bell ran above them as Dan opened the door. He looked around and could see a small gathering of people at the till and a few people sat at tables that had been placed in the middle of the store. A few people looked around as they entered, but soon turned back around and continued to fill out their forms. They made their way to the till and the familiar face of Leland greeted them.

"Hello Dan!" He exclaimed. His face twisted into a wide, toothy smile. He ran a hand through his greying, slicked-back hair. "And hello Callum! I'll need your Cossy ID, boys." Dan flipped his bag off his back and rummaged for his ID card. Callum handed his in and a quick swipe on a card-reader and it was handed back. After Dan had got his back they were handed a form. "Just write every card in your deck in the specified column and then we can begin, make sure not to use abbreviations, write the card's full name!" he smiled again and waved the boys on.

When Dan had filled out the form he handed it in. Leland took the paper and examined it carefully.

"This looks good." He looked up and gave his usual smile. "Still only one Judgment Dragon?"

Dan nodded.

"Well I tell ya what! I got brand new stock which includes a Judgment Dragon. If you win, I'll give ya it for free and as your prize, what do you say?"

Dan beamed. He had been looking for more Judgment Dragons for ages now, at least since he was ten, so that would have been eight years of looking for one cheap enough. But he never had enough money when he spotted one. It was always sold out when he managed to collect enough. It was getting extremely frustrating, so this offer nearly reduced him to tears, but instead he managed to say thank you.

"Whoa, Dan, try not to shout!" Leland replied.

"Opps, sorry. I'm just so thankful." Dan realised he must have lost control of his voice due to being so surprised and excited.

"Don't mention it." Leland surprisingly managed to smile even wider. "Oh, and before I forget." He reached under the counter and laid a booster pack on the top of the counter. "This is for competing in this year's tournament."

"Thank you!" Dan mirrored Leland's smile. He collected his pack and sat at one of the tables to wait for the last of the competitors to hand their forms in.

Dan watched as Callum made his way up to the till. He handed over his form and Leland checked it over and then looked up with a smile. They chatted briefly and Callum was handed his booster pack and he turned around casually and made his way to the table where Dan sat.

"Guess what." Dan leant forward. "Leland made an offer that if I win I'll be able to have a Judgment Dragon as a prize!" Callum grinned and then laid back in his chair.

"Not if I win... Which I will." Callum was trying to mask his nervousness and was failing badly. Something was different though, he seemed to be even more nervous than normal.

Callum looked around and smiled at someone. Dan turned around to see a girl who was smiling back. She was sitting with another girl who didn't seem to notice. The girl had blonde hair that rested on her shoulders and the most noticeable were her blue eyes. Dan turned and looked at Callum who then looked away, his face ever-so-slightly went a little red. Dan raised his eyebrows and grinned.

Callum spotted Dan's grin. "What? She was the girl who told me that she saw someone take my deck!"

Dan observed Callum's face. "And?"

Callum started to grin a little. "And nothing!"

They were then interrupted by the bell, which meant more competitors. They both looked towards the door to see a boy with big, spiky hair. He wore purple glasses and wore an orange jacket and had very baggy jeans.

"Oh, damn. It's Jacob." Callum's gaze steeled. Jacob noticed, and returned with an icy look. Their eyes were locked until Jacob made his way to the till to greet Leland.

"Good afternoon Leland." Jacob enunciated.

Dan leaned forward again. "Is he pissed off with you?"

"Of course." Callum replied. "I think he's realised that we took my deck back."

Once Jacob's decklist had been checked Leland stood in front of the tables and raised his arms to try to get himself noticed.

"Now hush everyone!" he called and the noise of chatting died down. "It's a good result this year, twelve competitors overall in fact!"

Dan looked around, it wasn't the worst turnout that there had been over the years. There had once been only six people who turned up so it wasn't too bad. Also bearing in mind that the more competitors the bigger the prizes. Dan thought about winning the tournament and Leland presenting him with a trophy and a Judgment Dragon plus a few miscellaneous prizes thrown in too. His palms started to get a little sweaty.

"Because there are twelve competitors, there will be four rounds. After these four rounds, there will be a top four playoff!" Leland paused to let it sink in, or just to add a dramatic effect. "I am obliged to point out that last year's winner was James..."

A few people turned their heads towards a young man, around twenty years of age; his eyes were a little squinted, his hair was short and bits stuck out in random directions. He reached into his coat pocket and lifted up a card named 'Lavalval Chain' like it was an object that would amaze people. He was nodding in an arrogant way. He looked way too confident and laid-back, that would be his downfall.

"Now most people know what the score is; normal tournament rules and NO CHEATING! A judge will record the game's outcome and come to me if you have any questions. Also, before I forget, here is the scoring system." He held up a piece of paper. "Make sure everyone gets to see it." He passed it to the nearest person and looked around the room. "I would explain them to you but it would take longer." He concluded as he patiently waited for the paper to be passed around.

Dan was handed the paper and he read it carefully.

_Hello everyone, this is this year's scoring system:_

_W:L = Amount of points__  
2:0 = 3 points  
2:1 = 2 point  
1:2 = 1 point  
0:2 = 0 point_

_If you have any questions, just ask the tournament organizer._

Dan looked up and gave it to Callum.

"Now, let's get on with it!" Leland skipped away to his counter and disappeared for a second then returned and stood in front of the tables again. He was holding a felt top-hat. "Let's see who duels who then shall we?" he asked rhetorically.

He reached into the hat and pulled out one strip of paper.

"The first person to be picked is... Jacob!"

A few people looked around at Jacob, who was trying to look formidable.

"Let's who will face him shall we?" Leland shouted excitedly.

"Get on with it." Dan thought to himself.

"The person who is facing Jacob is..." his face scrunched up in excitement. "Last year's winner, James!"

A few people's names were called out until...

"The fifth match will be..." he reached into the hat. "Callum!" A few people looked at him and he looked back at them awkwardly until faced the front where Leland stood. "His match-up will be... Lucy!" Leland declared.

Callum blushed. He didn't turn around this time.

Dan turned his head to see everyone looking at the girl who had smiled at Callum previously.

"And finally," Leland dipped his hand in the hat. "Dan!" He felt eyes dig into him. "He'll be up against..." he picked the last little slip out of the hat. "And of course, it is Jack!"

Dan looked around to see a boy, around the same age as himself. The boy's eyes were filled with fiery competitiveness. His brown eyes were barely visible behind his shiny, blonde hair. He wore a thick, green coat and jeans.

Dan reflected the boy's stare.

"Nothing's gonna stop me from getting that Judgment Dragon." Dan murmured to himself as he turned back around.

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**A/N: I'll be back with new chapters soon!**


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